How Software is Built - Coding, Scripting and Programming
Learning Objectives
- Be able to install software on Windows and Linux.
- Understand the main components of software and how they work.
- Describe how computers use instructions to process input and produce output.
- Describe how a program breaks down into instructions for the CPU.
Software: The intangible instructions that tell the hardware what to do
- it is how we, as users directly interact with our computer
- OS
- word processors
- music programs
Coding - translating one language to another
Scripting - coding in a scripting language
- Scripts are mainly used to perform a single or limited range task
Programming - coding in a programming language
- Programming Languages are special languages that software developers use to write instructions for computers to execute
Key takeaways
A basic knowledge of scripting is an important tool for IT professionals. You may need to improve workflow efficiency by automating basic functions with a scripting language. Some common scripting languages include:
- Windows environments: batch scripts (.bat), Powershell (.ps1), Visual Basic Script (.vbs)
- Linux/Unix environments: shell scripts (.sh)
- Most OS environments: javascript (.js), Python (.py)
Scripts have multiple helpful uses, such as
- Basic Automation
- Restarting Machines
- Remapping Network Drives
- Installing Applications
- Automating Backups
- Gathering of information/ data
- Initiating Updates
There are risks in using scripts, including:
- Unintentionally introducing malware
- Inadvertently changing system settings
- Browser or system crashes due to mishandling of resources